Personal computers and computer systems used for video games often include means for generating sound effects. This can be a simple amplifier and speaker to which the computer supplies bit streams of digital data to generate crude sounds or this may consist of special purpose integrated circuits to synthesize various sound effects and music. Heretofore, most of the sound generated for personal computer type applications has been monaural. As the quality of the video images for such applications improves, the need for more realistic sound effects increases, necessitating the capability for multichannel sound.
In the case of stereophonic, or two channel sound, each channel does not consist of two totally different sounds, each being present only in one of the two channels. Rather, true stereophonic sound has essentially the same overall sound present in each channel with various component sounds being at different audio levels and different phase relationships from the same component present in the other audio channel. Therefore, simply providing separate sound generators for each channel will not synthesize true stereophonic audio.